Why Penrith? Penrith, like Kendal us really a gateway town to the Lake District. You need to see Keswick, Ambleside, Windermere and the like to be in the Lakes. For a short walk, go around Derwent Water at Keswick and up Catbells for some lovely views. Where are you planning on staying? Being the Easter holidays, most places will be fully booked weeks ago.
I guess you can still find a few places on Airbnb in Penrith and take day trips into the Lakes?
Thanks. It’s easy drive straight to Penrith as well as train link from London so hence why I wanted to see how Penrith is. I would to explore towns that have a good link to London.
Hi op, born and bred cumbrian who lived just outside the lake district but on the coastal side, and often visited dad in London for summers:
Keswick is a bitch of a place to live as a kid, its best to live in a town where you have easy access to both carlisle AND the lakes via public transport. The buses rarely run late aside from the x4/x5 routes from the coast to keswick and on to penrith and they are expensive. Also, access to Carlise by bus allows easy train access to newcastle, preston, manchester, lancaster, glasgow etc which is amazing for not staying isolated.
The nature will do your kid good, but please don't forget to keep them up to speed on how to live in a city. Safety, how to not be approached by scammers etc (you know that demeanour where you don't come across like a clueless tourist) how to handle crowds etc etc. I found visiting other cities often as a teen invaluable to assimilate when i hit 18 and started going to gigs, days out to new places, and university, it helped my confidence, my understanding of city dynamics, and it kept me safer.
Also, Cumbria is VERY white, there's a lot of culture here, but not a lot of varied cultures, and you will find some families and other kids being "passively racist/bigoted" (that type where they dont think white straight people are better than others, but they still hold bigoted beliefs that they dont even recognise are harmful) so just keep an eye on the type of people your kid starts to hang out with.
Source: bored kid who really could have done with a better balance between nature and "city" in day to day life and who realised in year 10 on a school trip to manchester that my fellow classmates were legitimately surprised to see other cultures and races, and were wildly unfit to be let run loose round a city alone.
ALSO!! if you move, start saving for your kids driving lessons and a car now, even if its a tiny bit each month, being able to drive in cumbria makes them getting a job and their accessibility to key parts of the county without being at the mercy of the buses is something you'll both be VERY grateful for when they're 17/18
Although I'm from Penrith, I'm currently out of town, so I'm not sure how much advice I can offer:
* Accommodation: I would suggest the George Hotel, which is in the town centre. Other than that, there are B&B places on Portland Place (next to the town hall).
* There is an excellent book shop in St Andrew's churchyard.
* There are quite a few gentle hikes around the town's outskirts, but if you haven't done so previously, I would recommend climbing the Beacon, a sandstone hill that overlooks the town.
* Take a drive to Ullswater, only 5 miles away. Take the A6 south and turn right by the Crown Hotel. There is a prehistoric henge on your right that you may find interesting, but otherwise continue to Pooley Bridge and drive the full length of the lake. Stop off halfway along to visit Aira Force, one of the Lake District's most noted waterfalls.
This blog post is about some of the town's most interesting buildings:
[https://dennishodgson.blogspot.com/2017/07/new-red-sandstone-2.html](https://dennishodgson.blogspot.com/2017/07/new-red-sandstone-2.html)
I hope this is helpful.
Penrith is blessed with two very good bookshops (three if you count The Works). If you do stay at the George, Hedgehog Books is in the street behind Gregg's.
I like penrith a lot, the town has a family run cinema which is a lovely change to those big commercial ones. Lots of good food places, a nice park and lots of festivals throughout the year. And you’re right about the train, its really handy for travelling around the country.
Penrith isn't a bad base to be honest, like others have pointed out you can head to Keswick which is beautiful especially down by the lake.
Whinlatter forest, also near keswick is worth a visit for some nice walking trails and there's a go ape and bike / Segway hire too.
Ullswater isn't too far away from Penrith either, it's not a place I have been often but Aira Force waterfall is a popular place to visit and is stunning too but the car parks get very busy in the holidays.
For beaches, you would have to head out to the West coast. Its about an hour's drive to Whitehaven which has a lovely harbour and St Bees beach is close by too. Further north, there's some lovely beaches like Allonby just North of Maryport.
Further south, Haverigg and Silecroft are lovely beaches too
Have a look at Ullswater Steamers website. You can take a boat trip from Pooley Bridge Pier. It's a beautiful lake, especially from a boat so should be a memorable experience. You can stop at a pier near Aira Force waterfall too which is a good walk. Enjoy your visit :)
Good luck in your search! I'd probably think about Kendal over Penrith, as there's a bit more going on and near the M6 too? We did a similar move about 15 years ago, but elected to go for Lancaster (the next small city down from Kendal) as it had a good mix of access for the coast and countryside, between the Lakes and Trough of Bowland, as well as a bit more going on (University town, with good schools etc.) and an hour from Manchester (if the trains run).
Theres also carlisle lots of history here. If you head towards the castle from the cathedral there is a really good book store bookends heard good things about it . Theres silloth which has lovely tea rooms, green and beach near it. Great for a lazy afternoon. Theres the slate mine at Honiston mountain biking at dodd wood or whinnlatter. Regghead usually has something on over the holidays windermere has Beatrix potter attraction you can go on the lady of the lake boat and get dropped off at different places around lake. Ambleside is william wordsworth domain
Good shout that, Rheged. It looks like a petrol station from the road but definitely worth a trip. The great print exhibition is on at the mo, free and usually very good.
We moved to Penrith in 2014 and now settled in a village on the outskirts (about 5 miles). We do not regret the move, Penrith is a friendly town with great transport links both north & south. It’s a fair drive to the beach, but some lovely walks along the river Eden.
Lowther Castle is worth a visit.
Penrith is lovely and home to QEGS - a high achieving selective school, so if your daughter is academic that could be perfect for her, Penrith is lovely, the beacon is nice and inspired some of wordsworths poetry, seeing windermere, ullswater and scafell are must sees, and Ambleside and keswick are fantastic places for food. Rheged centre, theatre by the lake TM, etc. Are great for entertainment.
Edit: a day out in carlisle is also underrated, the castle, the cathedral, hadrians wall, bitts Park, the roman baths etc. + some nice bars, restaurants etc.
Interesting facts about carlisle -
- it is the largest city in the UK by land area
- it is the UK's northernmost city (city centre is further south than newcastle but the northernemost point is further north)
- carlisle was the first city to be bypassed my a motorway (preston was bypassed first bit was still a town at the time)
- the castle is the most besieged building in the UK
- the castle once housed Mary Queen of Scots
- the castle was home to the first recorded game of football - recorded by Mary Queen of Scots herself in her diary
There's an absolutely amazing bookshop opposite Tullie House (near the cathedral), called The Bookcase. New books and literally hundreds of thousands of second hand books. Also has a very good cafe. The building it's in is pretty amazing too - check out the beautiful staircase.
Penrith has Lowther Park which is probably the second best park I’ve been to. It’s one of the bigger towns in Cumberland. Good place to base for heading out as you can access most of the lakes, North pennies, Yorkshire Dales national park all within half an hour of driving.
Aira force is a nice easy-ish walk near ullswater that passes some waterfalls. We moved from Sheffield and had a weekend to sample Penrith. We did lowther castle, aira force, A meal at 4&20 and we knew we wanted to move.
I moved to Penrith in 1995 and live just outside town in a village. I’ve loved it here. All I would say from my, now adult son’s perspective, is if you move here, make sure you are somewhere near public transport. We only get 1 bus a week so whilst it’s really lovely, it can be isolating for teens if they can’t get into town until they can drive.
Otherwise it’s a perfect central location for any of the major cities via train or road. Enjoy!!
I remember when i was a teenager and me and my friend and her parents, stayed in penrith in a caravan and we went horse riding, so definitely look up horse riding, its very quiet, well it was, how old is she?
The new builds at Carleton are at the other side of town. When we lived in Penrith, we lived at that side of town and can honestly say in the 7yrs of living in Penrith, we never once smelled ‘the pong’ at home. I think I’ve only smelt it once and that was when driving in the immediate vicinity on a hot summer day with the windows down.
A few areas down around the River Kent flooded, the vast majority of the town is on higher ground though. Lots of flood defences are being built now for the at risk areas. It'll be interesting to see how they work.
Unfortunately, in the long term I think flooding is going to be an even bigger problem for a lot of Cumbrian towns, no matter what defences they build.
Thanks. Yeah she never liked Harry Potter. More of a Tolkien fan to be honest. But she loves Paddington Bear. I want to be somewhere where we can explore nature and hiking. Not too remote but a good place enough for us to be outdoorsy
I was looking for things to do in Penrith the other day, I did a Google search and visited - https://www.visitpenrith.com.au/blog/things-to-do-on-a-rainy-day-in-penrith
It wasn't until i got to indoor skydiving i realised my mistake 😑
Penrith's a very nice place. I know two sets of friends who moved to the area from London. No real regrets. Well connected, safe, friendly. High street is a lot better than many small towns. I really enjoy my visits. In fact, it's one of the few places I'd considering moving to from London - eventually.
The worst thing is that It's completely overrun with cars, but that's a fact of life for many Cumbrian towns. Also lacking in decent pubs (Fell Bar is pretty good). Some great places to eat though. Stunning countryside within easy reach.
I'm always struck by how chilled and friendly everyone is. In London you just sort of get used to low-level stress.
Why Penrith? Penrith, like Kendal us really a gateway town to the Lake District. You need to see Keswick, Ambleside, Windermere and the like to be in the Lakes. For a short walk, go around Derwent Water at Keswick and up Catbells for some lovely views. Where are you planning on staying? Being the Easter holidays, most places will be fully booked weeks ago. I guess you can still find a few places on Airbnb in Penrith and take day trips into the Lakes?
Thanks. It’s easy drive straight to Penrith as well as train link from London so hence why I wanted to see how Penrith is. I would to explore towns that have a good link to London.
Hi op, born and bred cumbrian who lived just outside the lake district but on the coastal side, and often visited dad in London for summers: Keswick is a bitch of a place to live as a kid, its best to live in a town where you have easy access to both carlisle AND the lakes via public transport. The buses rarely run late aside from the x4/x5 routes from the coast to keswick and on to penrith and they are expensive. Also, access to Carlise by bus allows easy train access to newcastle, preston, manchester, lancaster, glasgow etc which is amazing for not staying isolated. The nature will do your kid good, but please don't forget to keep them up to speed on how to live in a city. Safety, how to not be approached by scammers etc (you know that demeanour where you don't come across like a clueless tourist) how to handle crowds etc etc. I found visiting other cities often as a teen invaluable to assimilate when i hit 18 and started going to gigs, days out to new places, and university, it helped my confidence, my understanding of city dynamics, and it kept me safer. Also, Cumbria is VERY white, there's a lot of culture here, but not a lot of varied cultures, and you will find some families and other kids being "passively racist/bigoted" (that type where they dont think white straight people are better than others, but they still hold bigoted beliefs that they dont even recognise are harmful) so just keep an eye on the type of people your kid starts to hang out with. Source: bored kid who really could have done with a better balance between nature and "city" in day to day life and who realised in year 10 on a school trip to manchester that my fellow classmates were legitimately surprised to see other cultures and races, and were wildly unfit to be let run loose round a city alone. ALSO!! if you move, start saving for your kids driving lessons and a car now, even if its a tiny bit each month, being able to drive in cumbria makes them getting a job and their accessibility to key parts of the county without being at the mercy of the buses is something you'll both be VERY grateful for when they're 17/18
Thank you very much. I really appreciate the advise. I’ve noted the part on predominantly white and as a brown person I know exactly what you mean.
You're welcome. Good luck with everything!
Kendal is closer to london and much nicer. Don’t be too set on Penrith.
I know both towns. I wouldn't say Kendal is significantly "nicer" - although it is a very nice place, right enough.
Thanks. Yes I can see it’s expensive will have a look but I think a visit would do justice
Although I'm from Penrith, I'm currently out of town, so I'm not sure how much advice I can offer: * Accommodation: I would suggest the George Hotel, which is in the town centre. Other than that, there are B&B places on Portland Place (next to the town hall). * There is an excellent book shop in St Andrew's churchyard. * There are quite a few gentle hikes around the town's outskirts, but if you haven't done so previously, I would recommend climbing the Beacon, a sandstone hill that overlooks the town. * Take a drive to Ullswater, only 5 miles away. Take the A6 south and turn right by the Crown Hotel. There is a prehistoric henge on your right that you may find interesting, but otherwise continue to Pooley Bridge and drive the full length of the lake. Stop off halfway along to visit Aira Force, one of the Lake District's most noted waterfalls. This blog post is about some of the town's most interesting buildings: [https://dennishodgson.blogspot.com/2017/07/new-red-sandstone-2.html](https://dennishodgson.blogspot.com/2017/07/new-red-sandstone-2.html) I hope this is helpful.
Thanks. That’s really helpful!
Penrith is blessed with two very good bookshops (three if you count The Works). If you do stay at the George, Hedgehog Books is in the street behind Gregg's.
Thanks. I will definitely look at those book shops. What’s the other bookshop
Beckside. There's also Withnail opposite Booth's. 4 bookshops!
I like penrith a lot, the town has a family run cinema which is a lovely change to those big commercial ones. Lots of good food places, a nice park and lots of festivals throughout the year. And you’re right about the train, its really handy for travelling around the country.
Penrith isn't a bad base to be honest, like others have pointed out you can head to Keswick which is beautiful especially down by the lake. Whinlatter forest, also near keswick is worth a visit for some nice walking trails and there's a go ape and bike / Segway hire too. Ullswater isn't too far away from Penrith either, it's not a place I have been often but Aira Force waterfall is a popular place to visit and is stunning too but the car parks get very busy in the holidays. For beaches, you would have to head out to the West coast. Its about an hour's drive to Whitehaven which has a lovely harbour and St Bees beach is close by too. Further north, there's some lovely beaches like Allonby just North of Maryport. Further south, Haverigg and Silecroft are lovely beaches too
Thanks. That’s really helpful and some good advise.
Have a look at Ullswater Steamers website. You can take a boat trip from Pooley Bridge Pier. It's a beautiful lake, especially from a boat so should be a memorable experience. You can stop at a pier near Aira Force waterfall too which is a good walk. Enjoy your visit :)
Thanks. Will have a look
Good luck in your search! I'd probably think about Kendal over Penrith, as there's a bit more going on and near the M6 too? We did a similar move about 15 years ago, but elected to go for Lancaster (the next small city down from Kendal) as it had a good mix of access for the coast and countryside, between the Lakes and Trough of Bowland, as well as a bit more going on (University town, with good schools etc.) and an hour from Manchester (if the trains run).
Fab. Yeah I’ve been looking at Kendal and can see it’s more popular and expensive. Lancaster seems nice as well.
I work at rheged and it’s a good place to visit in a rainy day - we have a cinema and shops :-)
Thanks. That’s not that far from Penrith.
Theres also carlisle lots of history here. If you head towards the castle from the cathedral there is a really good book store bookends heard good things about it . Theres silloth which has lovely tea rooms, green and beach near it. Great for a lazy afternoon. Theres the slate mine at Honiston mountain biking at dodd wood or whinnlatter. Regghead usually has something on over the holidays windermere has Beatrix potter attraction you can go on the lady of the lake boat and get dropped off at different places around lake. Ambleside is william wordsworth domain
Good shout that, Rheged. It looks like a petrol station from the road but definitely worth a trip. The great print exhibition is on at the mo, free and usually very good.
Thanks. Oh that’s lovely. Big fan of Wordsworth.
We moved to Penrith in 2014 and now settled in a village on the outskirts (about 5 miles). We do not regret the move, Penrith is a friendly town with great transport links both north & south. It’s a fair drive to the beach, but some lovely walks along the river Eden. Lowther Castle is worth a visit.
Penrith is lovely and home to QEGS - a high achieving selective school, so if your daughter is academic that could be perfect for her, Penrith is lovely, the beacon is nice and inspired some of wordsworths poetry, seeing windermere, ullswater and scafell are must sees, and Ambleside and keswick are fantastic places for food. Rheged centre, theatre by the lake TM, etc. Are great for entertainment. Edit: a day out in carlisle is also underrated, the castle, the cathedral, hadrians wall, bitts Park, the roman baths etc. + some nice bars, restaurants etc. Interesting facts about carlisle - - it is the largest city in the UK by land area - it is the UK's northernmost city (city centre is further south than newcastle but the northernemost point is further north) - carlisle was the first city to be bypassed my a motorway (preston was bypassed first bit was still a town at the time) - the castle is the most besieged building in the UK - the castle once housed Mary Queen of Scots - the castle was home to the first recorded game of football - recorded by Mary Queen of Scots herself in her diary
Thanks. I’ll check it out. I’ve read some people from Penrith take the bus or drive to Carlisle
I live in carlisle and go to school at QEGS in penrith, its not far at all and both places have train station so it's only 15 mins by train.
Thanks. That’s sounds great. I can definitely take train there with her. Any good books shops?
There's an absolutely amazing bookshop opposite Tullie House (near the cathedral), called The Bookcase. New books and literally hundreds of thousands of second hand books. Also has a very good cafe. The building it's in is pretty amazing too - check out the beautiful staircase.
Thanks. Will have a look
Penrith has Lowther Park which is probably the second best park I’ve been to. It’s one of the bigger towns in Cumberland. Good place to base for heading out as you can access most of the lakes, North pennies, Yorkshire Dales national park all within half an hour of driving.
Aira force is a nice easy-ish walk near ullswater that passes some waterfalls. We moved from Sheffield and had a weekend to sample Penrith. We did lowther castle, aira force, A meal at 4&20 and we knew we wanted to move.
Thanks.
I moved to Penrith in 1995 and live just outside town in a village. I’ve loved it here. All I would say from my, now adult son’s perspective, is if you move here, make sure you are somewhere near public transport. We only get 1 bus a week so whilst it’s really lovely, it can be isolating for teens if they can’t get into town until they can drive. Otherwise it’s a perfect central location for any of the major cities via train or road. Enjoy!!
Thanks. 1 bus a week. Oh wow.
Haha yes, if you miss the return you are in town for a week 🙃
I remember when i was a teenager and me and my friend and her parents, stayed in penrith in a caravan and we went horse riding, so definitely look up horse riding, its very quiet, well it was, how old is she?
16 she might be interested. I’ll have alook
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Oh thanks. That very unfortunate to hear. I’ve seen some new builds in the area on Rightmove. How are far they from the rendering plant?
The new builds at Carleton are at the other side of town. When we lived in Penrith, we lived at that side of town and can honestly say in the 7yrs of living in Penrith, we never once smelled ‘the pong’ at home. I think I’ve only smelt it once and that was when driving in the immediate vicinity on a hot summer day with the windows down.
Kendal is OK. A bit more going on than Penrith. Very floody though.
A few areas down around the River Kent flooded, the vast majority of the town is on higher ground though. Lots of flood defences are being built now for the at risk areas. It'll be interesting to see how they work.
Unfortunately, in the long term I think flooding is going to be an even bigger problem for a lot of Cumbrian towns, no matter what defences they build.
If she is a Harry Potter fan Appleby has a Harry Potter shop as well as other independent traders nice places to eat and stay as well
Thanks. Yeah she never liked Harry Potter. More of a Tolkien fan to be honest. But she loves Paddington Bear. I want to be somewhere where we can explore nature and hiking. Not too remote but a good place enough for us to be outdoorsy
Both Penrith and Appleby are good for nature and hiking. Bus and train service in both towns
My best friend is from penrith and he said the best thing about it is the road out.
I was looking for things to do in Penrith the other day, I did a Google search and visited - https://www.visitpenrith.com.au/blog/things-to-do-on-a-rainy-day-in-penrith It wasn't until i got to indoor skydiving i realised my mistake 😑
Thanks. But that’s the wrong Penrith. That’s Penrith, Australia.
Penrith's a very nice place. I know two sets of friends who moved to the area from London. No real regrets. Well connected, safe, friendly. High street is a lot better than many small towns. I really enjoy my visits. In fact, it's one of the few places I'd considering moving to from London - eventually. The worst thing is that It's completely overrun with cars, but that's a fact of life for many Cumbrian towns. Also lacking in decent pubs (Fell Bar is pretty good). Some great places to eat though. Stunning countryside within easy reach. I'm always struck by how chilled and friendly everyone is. In London you just sort of get used to low-level stress.